If you are a homeowner and wish to apply for a permit to build or improve your personal home:
State law requires residential construction to be done by a licensed residential builder, general contractor, and/or a specialty contractor. The homeowner can apply for a permit under an exemption to that law. The exemption allows you, as the owner of your property, to act as your own builder even though you do not have a license. You may build or improve your residence but it must be for your own use and occupancy. It may not be built or improved for sale or rent. If you sell or rent a building you have built or improved yourself within two years after the construction is complete, the law will presume that you built it for sale or rent, which is a violation of this exemption. You may not hire an unlicensed person as your residential builder or specialty contractor. It is your responsibility to make sure that people employed by you have licenses required by state law and a City of Conway business license. Your construction must comply with all applicable laws, ordinances, building codes, and zoning regulations.
To qualify for this exemption, you as the owner of the residential building or structure must promptly file as a matter of public record a disclosure statement with the register of deeds, indexed under the owner's name in the grantor's index, stating that the residential building or structure was constructed by the owner as an unlicensed builder. Failure to do so revokes the statutory exemption.
This applies to any work being done that touches a home such as decks, porch additions, attached pergola, roofing work, electrical work, etc.
